Soccer Edition 48

Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's subject will deal with the differences between high pressure and low-pressure defense.

First I would like to mention a few things. There is a new contest at FineSoccer.com. The person who can refer the most subscribers between now and June 25 will receive a FREE Best of Direct Kick CD-ROM (suggested retail price is $49.95. Check out the details at http://finesoccer.com/contest.htm

Also, there is a new search feature on the site, which SHOULD make it easier to find an article on a particular subject. I am still just testing it so would appreciate it if you check it out and let me know what you think. It's at http://finesoccer.com/search_finesoccer.htm

Lastly, the next few weeks will be quite hectic for me with coaching courses and camps and things like that (I try not to let real work interfere with any of this fun stuff). Some newsletters will be going out later then normal or earlier then normal and for
that I will apologize in advance.

To simplify the explanation as much as possible, low pressure means getting players back behind the ball with the intention of talking away and dribbling or passing opportunities into dangerous areas. Done effectively, low-pressure defense will be able to completely eliminate the possibility of an opposing team being able to penetrate the defense at all. If the attacking team wants to play square balls or negative passes, a low-pressure defense will allow this as to occur. The team playing low-pressure defense will be sitting back a bit with the intention of frustrating a team by not giving them any good scoring opportunities. Some people might refer to 
this as packing it in or a bunker defense but there actually is much more to it then that.

A team playing a low-pressure defense is playing both a physical and a mental game with the opponent. Essentially, teams that play this way are challenging the opponents patience and if they are successful, they will be able demonstrate that they are the stronger mental team. Rather then trying to force the opponent to make a mistake, the low-pressure team will simply be patient and allow the opponent to make a mistake.

A team playing high-pressure defense is more intent on forcing the action from a defensive standpoint (although you shouldn't be mistaken into thinking that a team that plays low pressure defense isn't also dictating things). A high-pressure defense is more interested in forcing an opposing team into making a mistake at which point the high-pressure team will capitalize on the mistake and attack off of it.

Teams that utilize a high pressure defense usually are more risk takers with the ball when they get it (simply because they know if they lose possession of the ball,
they will be able to win it back real quickly while a low pressure team will be more intent on keeping the ball once they get it because it takes them so long to actually win a ball. This is an interesting theory which I have always felt goes against common sense. If you are a team that utilizes low-pressure defense, you are essentially waiting for a team to make a mistake, which frequently will be the result of loss of shape and balance in back. This is actually the best time to attack quickly because if you can counter on a team that is out of balance, you will be most effective. Also, if a team has strung 20 passes together, they usually are feeling quite good about themselves (even though they are playing right into the low pressure teams hands since they most likely have not figured out how to attack the low pressure).  If you can capitalize on a mistake after this long possession by the opponent, they will get more and more
frustrated which is when your low pressure will become even more effective. If you are a high pressure team and are constantly in the face of an opponent when she
has the ball, they will get real frustrated so when you have the ball, they will tend to start chasing at which time it is a good idea to knock the ball around a bit and really frustrate them.  People seem to equate teams that play low-pressure defense with being inferior teams who are simply trying to keep the score down but that really isn't the case at all. A lot of the decision to go low pressure will be based on matchups as well as other conditions such as weather and injuries. Teams that play in very hot 
weather are more prone to play low pressure simply because they can't afford to run hard for 90 minutes and expect to survive. Teams that play in cooler environments are more prone to playing high pressure because the heat wont affect them as much plus playing high pressure will keep them warmer when it is really cold outside.

In my opinion, it is important for teams to know howto play both high pressure and low-pressure defense and even more importantly, to know how to play against both types of defenses. If you aren't a subscriber already, consider subscribing to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter because tomorrow's drill (which will be on the archives as http://finesoccer.com/finesoccer_drill_15.htm sometime tomorrow) will deal with how to practice playing both and playing against both high pressure and low-pressure defenses.

Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to comments@finesoccer.com or posted at http://finesoccer.com/forum.htm

Have a great day!

Lawrence